How to Claim Internet Expenses in the UK (2026 Guide)

Quick answer

Internet at business premises is fully deductible. Home broadband for a sole trader is a mixed-use cost, so you claim the business proportion using a reasonable method of dividing the bill. Employees cannot claim broadband at all, and since 6 April 2026 cannot claim any unreimbursed homeworking costs; the employer-side routes, including the £6 a week homeworking amount, are what remain.

Is internet tax deductible in the UK?

For the self-employed, yes at the business share. GOV.UK’s guidance on working from home is explicit that you may claim a proportion of internet and telephone use, provided you find a reasonable method of dividing your costs, such as the hours you work from home or the share of usage that is business. A wholly business connection, whether a leased line to an office or a second broadband line used only for work, is deductible in full without apportionment.

For employees the answer is now a clean no. Broadband was always excluded as a dual-purpose cost where the connection already exists for the household. What changed in April 2026 is broader: from the 2026 to 2027 tax year, employees can no longer claim tax relief for working from home, though claims for the four earlier years remain possible ^[1] , and shared household costs such as broadband never qualified ^[1] . That withdrawal took effect from 6 April 2026, closing the route that many remote workers used after 2020. Support for homeworking employees now has to come from the employer, who can still reimburse eligible costs without tax or National Insurance where the exemption conditions are met.

How much can you claim?

If you use the simplified working-from-home flat rate of £10 to £26 a month, note that it doesn’t include telephone or internet; claim their business share separately from actual costs ^[3] .

Sole trader worked example: broadband at £40 a month is £480 a year. A consultant working from home four days a week estimates business use at 40% of the connection across waking hours, supported by a note of the method. The claim is £480 x 40%, which is £192. The percentage is yours to justify; what HMRC looks for is a method that was thought about, written down, and applied consistently, not a number picked at year end.

Employer-side, the homeworking amount is £6 a week, or £26 a month for monthly paid staff, for employees working regularly at home under homeworking arrangements, a guideline that has applied since 6 April 2020 ^[2] . Paid at that guideline rate, it needs no evidence of actual additional costs. It is aimed at extra heating, lighting, and business calls; it does not turn the household broadband subscription into a business cost.

VAT on internet costs

A VAT-registered business reclaims input VAT on connectivity in line with business use: in full on business-premises and dedicated business lines, and at the business proportion on a mixed-use home line. The provider’s VAT invoice is required either way. Bundled connectivity inside a co-working licence follows the invoice you receive for the space.

Record-keeping requirements

Keep the broadband bills, the contract, and a short written note of the apportionment method and the resulting percentage. Self-assessment records must be kept for at least 5 years after the 31 January deadline and VAT records for at least 6. The apportionment note is the piece most people are missing at enquiry; two sentences written when you set the percentage carry more weight than a spreadsheet reconstructed three years later.

How to claim, step by step

1. Classify the line: business premises, dedicated business line, or mixed-use home broadband.
2. For mixed use, pick a reasonable division method (working hours, usage share) and write it down with the percentage.
3. Apply the percentage to the year’s bills and enter the result in the office costs box of the SA103 self-employment pages.
4. Reclaim VAT at the same proportion, keeping the provider’s VAT invoices.
5. Employers: set up a homeworking arrangement and pay the £6 a week amount through payroll as an exempt expense, or provide the connection directly where it is needed for the job.
6. Review the percentage annually alongside your home office claim so the two stories match.

Common mistakes

• Claiming 100% of home broadband that the household also uses. The claim is the business share.
• Employees claiming broadband or other homeworking costs on their tax return after 6 April 2026. The relief is gone.
• Setting a business percentage with no recorded method behind it.
• The home-office and internet claims telling different stories, such as 20% of the house but 90% of the broadband, without an explanation.
• Missing VAT invoices from the provider when reclaiming input VAT.

Software that helps

• Hubdoc fetches the monthly broadband bill automatically so the recurring cost never goes missing.
• ExpenseFlow captures the bill from a photo or forwarded email, applies the business-use split you configure rather than a full claim, and syncs the approved amount to Xero with the bill attached, or to QuickBooks Online as a coded bill.
• Dext handles the same capture from a forwarded email and codes the cost consistently month to month.

FAQ

See the answered questions above for sole-trader apportionment, the employee rule change, the £6 a week amount, VAT, and co-working internet.